Is Ron Paul ready to cut a deal with Mitt Romney?

Motoya NakamuraThe overflow crowd at Ron Paul's Feb. 16 rally in Vancouver watch through the open doors to the ballroom at the Vancouver Hilton.

Before Ron Paul arrived at his Vancouver rally last month, I asked several people in the crowd (which, by the way, was heavy with Oregonians) what they'd do if the Texas congressman didn't get the Republican presidential nomination.

I got an earful back from people who said they would write in Paul or look at one of the third-party candidates or simply not vote. I didn't find much interest in the other GOP candidates.

Aides say if Paul can’t win the nomination, four legislative
priorities would top the Texas Representative’s wish list: deep spending
cuts that lead to a balanced budget; the restoration of civil
liberties; a commitment to reclaim the legislative branch’s right to
declare war, which it abdicated to the executive branch in recent
decades; and reforms that shore up the U.S. monetary system, such an
audit of the Federal Reserve or competing-currency legislation. The
Texas Representative might also be enticed, says campaign chairman Jesse
Benton, by the prospect of serving as a presidential adviser, a Cabinet
position for someone in his orbit or “perhaps a vice presidency."

Not for himself, but rather his son. Rand Paul, the junior senator
from Kentucky and a Tea Party icon, is expected to launch his own White
House bid in 2016. Being on the ticket now – or even being mentioned for
it – would be a helpful step. Says one Paul adviser: “If you’re talking
about putting Rand on the ticket, of course that would be worth
delivering our people to Romney.”

Romney is unlikely to go for that. At the same time, Paul’s backers
recognize that selling supporters on an alliance with Romney carries
special risks, since Paul’s bond with his backers is predicted on his
record of principled stands. A pact would have to be done “very
cautiously,” says Benton. “We wouldn’t ask our people to do that if we
worried they were just being coopted or that we were in some way selling
out.”